Getting Through
by CoolNick44
Summary: It's been a month since Angel left at the end of season 2, and no one seems to be able to communicate with Fred, or even get her to come out of her room. When Cordelia manages to form a friendship with her, will it blossom into something more? Rated M for drug use, marijuana only, and sex in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Getting Through

A Story by CoolNick44

Joss Whedon owns Angel and all related characters. I own nothing except an imagination.

_This story takes place between seasons two and three._

Chapter 1:

Cordelia, Wesley, and Gunn all sat in the lobby of the Hyperion Hotel, their base of operations and residence of their employer, Angel. It had been one month since Angel had left on a spiritual retreat after receiving the news that his old girlfriend Buffy had died. This proved especially problematic to the rest of the Fang Gang, since Angel left just a day after they had come back from Pylea with a new friend in tow; the lovely Winifred Burkle, called Fred by her friends. She had been a slave in Pylea for five years, without any human contact, and had nearly fallen into complete insanity due to her stay. It was Angel who freed her from her cave and brought her back to our dimension, and he was the only one that she saw fit to open up to. When he left, she retreated to a room in the Hyperion and never came out. The gang was at a loss at how to deal with her. They tried appealing to her through Tacos, her favorite food, but to no avail. She seemed to like writing on her walls, so they let her. It seemed that nothing would get her to come out until Angel came back. The gang was discussing that very topic while eating Chinese take-out.

"Do you think we're wrong in assuming that Fred will come out of her room when Angel comes back?" Wesley said.

Gunn shrugged. "I have no idea. That girl stayed in a cave for five years. Maybe she likes it. For all we know she could be having a grand old time in there."

"I doubt it," said Cordelia. "The way Angel described it, she was miserable in that cave. She made an enchilada out of tree bark for Pete's sake. I think she still thinks a Pylean guard is ready to chop her head off if she pokes it out the door."

Wesley had an idea. "Maybe you should try, Cordelia. You're a woman, so you might have a better job getting through to her than Gunn or I."

Cordelia looked at Wesley with surprise. "Me? You don't think she might resent me for being crowned a queen on my first day there when she was nearly killed and called a cow?"

Wesley shrugged. "It was just an idea. The most likely possibility is that we'll have to keep waiting for Angel."

"Who knows when that'll be, though. I'll go see her later tonight and see if I can get her talking. I'm the type of person people feel comfortable talking to."

Gunn chuckled slightly under his breath, followed by Wesley. She jokingly scoffed. "Well I don't see either of you going up there."

Later that night:

Wesley and Gunn had both gone home, and Cordelia phoned her apartment to leave a message for Dennis saying that he shouldn't wait up for her, as she was going to try to get Fred in a conversational mood. When that was done, she went upstairs and hesitantly knocked on Fred's door. "Fred? It's Cordelia."

There was no response for a minute, but then she heard a small voice. "What do you want? I'm busy."

Cordelia was surprised at the statement. "Busy? With what?"

"I'm writing out String Theory and its contradictory relationship with my nano-particle theorem."

"I don't suppose there's any way to spell that out in Layman's terms?"

There was no response for a second, but then Fred actually opened the door and looked at her. "I'm doing science-y things."

"Ah," Cordelia smiled. "Can I come in?"

"Why?" Fred asked suspiciously.

"I just want to talk. You've been cooped up in there for a month, and I figure you could use some company."

Fred looked uneasy. "I prefer being alone…"

Cordelia decided to take the initiative and walked in. "Oh come on. No one prefers complete isolation."

"I didn't really choose it five years ago…" Fred mumbled under her breath.

Cordelia realized what she said. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be insensitive."

"It's alright," Fred looked down at her feet for a few seconds. "When's Angel getting back?"

"It's hard to say. It'll probably be soon though. You know, just because Angel isn't here doesn't mean that you can't come downstairs and spend time with us once in a while."

Fred picked up a pen and continued writing on the wall. "I'll take that into consideration. Night."

"I know a sincere answer when I hear it, and that wasn't one," Cordelia said sarcastically.

Fred turned around and started talking honestly. "It's just… I hear you all talking about me like I'm a child who needs tending to, but I'm a grown woman who just likes privacy."

"I think you're a grown woman who was forced to accept privacy."

Fred gave her a look that told her she wasn't far off the mark. "It's what I'm used to."

"Don't you want companionship?" Cordelia asked.

"Why? I've got all I need right here. My notes, food, a bathroom…"

Cordelia sat down and motioned for Fred to join her. "That's all good as far as it goes, but none of it can replace interacting with a real human being. Is there anything you want? You don't have to be content with just food, water, and shelter anymore."

Fred laughed. "A new pen would be nice. Mine is running out of ink."

Cordelia chuckled. "Not just pens. Is there anything you used to do before? Anything fun or relaxing?"

Fred hesitated to answer. "Well, there was one thing…"

Cordelia smiled. "I'm sure I can help. What is it?"

"Back in Texas, and then when I moved to L.A., I liked smoking weed."

That was the last thing Cordelia expected to hear. Sweet, innocent Fred smoked weed? "You did drugs?"

"No! I wasn't a junkie or an addict or anything; I just liked smoking a joint or hitting a bong with some friends now and then."

"Oh. I don't mean to come across as judgmental. It just came as a shock," Cordelia wondered if she should say this, but they were actually getting somewhere, so what could it hurt? "I sometimes smoke pot too."

Fred looked shocked. "Really?"

Cordelia nodded. "I started about a year and a half ago, when I first got the visions. Sometimes they hurt so much I would do anything to ease the pain, and then one day I remembered that my neighbor two doors down was a real stoner, and I had him fix me up with his dealer. After I get one of those migraine-inducing 'gifts' from the Powers, I go home and roll myself a joint. It helps to take the edge off."

Fred smiled and slightly giggled. "I started smoking when I was sixteen. I had a boyfriend in High School who was really into weed, and I wanted to do everything he did, so I met his dealer and got a couple bowls to share over the weekend while my parents were away. I really liked it and kept smoking even after we broke up. After a long day of calculating equations, it was nice to just lay back and let yourself get lost in the smoky haze."

Cordelia mentally laughed at herself that she was bonding with Fred over Marijuana. "I know what you mean. Sometimes I'll sit up on the roof of my apartment, smoke a joint, and watch all the stars dance and swirl."

Fred's eyes widened. "I thought I was the only one who did that!" They both laughed, and then Fred looked down. "I haven't smoked Weed in five years."

Cordelia got an idea. "You know, I just stopped by my dealer a couple days ago and picked up some. I could go swing by my apartment and bring it over here."

"You mean you want to smoke with me?"

"Only if you want to."

Fred smiled and laughed. "Sure, why not? It's been a while, but I still remember how to do it."

Cordelia got up and opened the door. "Don't go anywhere. I'll be back in a couple minutes." Though she had no idea it would end up like this, Cordelia was enjoying this night immensely.


	2. Chapter 2

Getting Through, Chapter 2

A Story by CoolNick44

Joss Whedon owns Angel and all related characters. I own nothing except an imagination.

Chapter 2:

Cordelia arrived back at the Hyperion less than a half hour later with a bag full of marijuana. She knocked on Fred's door. "Fred? I'm back."

Fred opened the door and got a smile on her face when she saw what Cordelia was holding. "Come on in!"

Cordelia walked inside as Fred closed the door and sat down. She commenced with rolling a joint. Once she was finished, she held it up and said "This is going to be fun."

Fred nodded her head in eager agreement and waited for Cordelia to light it. She did, and handed it to Fred. "Do you want the first toke?"

"Sure," Fred said, putting the tiny cigarette in her mouth and inhaling deeply. She closed her eyes as the smoke filled her lungs. After a second, she took it out and blew smoke all over the room. "I wish we had my bong," she said.

"You had a bong?"

"Yeah, back in Texas. It was really cool too. I sold it when I was strapped for cash one time though."

Cordelia took the joint and put it between her lips. She tried to inhale deeply like Fred did, but ended up coughing. "Sorry, I'm not as good at this as you are."

Fred laughed and smiled at her. "It's alright. I'll teach you how to smoke like a pro."

They stayed there the whole night, and went through two joints before becoming completely stoned and talking to each other endlessly in pot-induced ramblings before falling asleep.

The next morning:

Cordelia woke up slowly, and quickly noticed that she wasn't alone in bed. She also noticed that it wasn't her bed. It took her a minute to remember what happened the previous night and realized that the other occupant in bed was Fred, whose room they were sleeping in. Cordelia also slowly remembered the fun time they had smoking weed. She noticed that Fred was snuggled up close against her with her left arm draped over Cordelia's shoulder. Fred looked adorable when she slept. Cordelia hated to wake her up, but one glance at the clock on the nightstand told her that Wesley and Gunn would be there in less than thirty minutes. She used her free arm to move Fred's arm off her shoulder and whispered in her ear. "Fred? Wake up, it's morning."

Fred slowly opened her eyes and smiled at the sight of Cordelia. "Hey. Good morning."

Cordelia smiled as well. Fred's grin was infectious. "I really had fun last night."

"Me too," Fred was about to say something else when she realized what time it was. "Oh god, Gunn and Wesley will be here any minute!" She got up quickly, only to have Cordelia laugh and pull her back down onto the bed.

"Relax, Fred. We have time to cover our tracks," Cordelia said that last part with a funnily conspiratorial whisper. "It's not like we really have anything to cover up. They probably wouldn't take kindly to us smoking weed last night, being all moral and everything, but they won't find out."

Fred smiled and let out the breath she had been holding. "Oh, well that's good then."

Cordelia got her bearings about her and got up to leave, then stopped. "Fred? Do you want to hold onto this for me?" She handed her the bag of marijuana.

Fred looked surprised. "Don't you want it?"

"Sure, but I liked smoking with you. If I leave it here we can do it again sometime."

Fred hugged her. "You're a good friend, Cordelia."

Cordelia returned the hug and kissed Fred on the cheek. "It'll be our little secret."

Fred felt amazing afterward. She finally connected with somebody other than Angel. She loved being with Cordelia. She was smart, funny, and beautiful. Fred wondered for a moment why she placed so much emphasis on that last trait, but didn't give it too much thought.

Later that evening:

Cordelia, Wesley, and Gunn walked through the doors of the Hyperion, having just defeated a Quorad demon that had been on a murder spree in the parks. It had been a hard battle, but Gunn finally managed to defeat it with his hubcap axe. Unfortunately, said demon dismemberment had left all three of them with green demon blood covering their clothes and faces. Wesley and Gunn put their equipment back in the weapons case, and gave out a tired sigh.

"How come all demons aren't like Lorne? You know, friendly and nice. We always find the evil, people-eating variety," Gunn said.

Wesley shrugged. "I suppose it's our lot in life. We are forever doomed to fight the evils of the earth."

Gunn laughed at that. "At least I've got my devilishly handsome good looks."

"I think you got a concussion fighting the Quorad demon, Charles," Gunn laughed sarcastically at Wesley's comment. "Well, I don't know about you two, but I'm going home to take twenty showers."

Cordelia chuckled. "Sounds good to me. You two feel free to leave. I'll go check on Fred first."

They didn't have to be told twice, and left in a flash. As soon as Cordelia was sure they were gone, she went upstairs and opened the door to Fred's room. She was about to announce herself, but walked in on Fred right in the middle of masturbating. They both looked at each other in shock. Fred looked down and realized that she still had her hand in her underwear, and took it out. "Oh! I'm so sorry!"

Cordelia hurridely walked toward the door. "No, it's my fault. I should've knocked." Fred blushed an incredibly bright shade of red and got up. Cordelia saw her embarasment and tried to make her feel better. "Hey, what's wrong? It's perfectly alright to... pleasure yourself. I do it too."

Fred looked up. "Hey, why are you covered in slime?"

Cordelia remembered her present appearance and laughed. "Oh. Wesley, Gunn, and I killed a particularly messy demon. I actually came to ask if I could use your shower, and then maybe we could smoke together."

Fred smiled at the thought. "Can we still do that?"

"Sure we can. Let me just wash up real quick. Well, it won't be really quick since there's all this slime to get off of me, but you know what I mean," Cordelia walked into Fred's bathroom and closed the door. Fred waited outside for Cordelia to finish showering, but she heard her calling a minute later. "Fred? Where do you keep the soap?"

"Oh. It's not in there. Let me get it," Fred went over to a cabinet and took out a bottle of soap, then walked over to the bathroom. "Here it is." Cordelia opened the door and took the bottle. She was also completely naked.

"Thanks," Cordelia noticed Fred once again blush and cover her eyes. "Fred?"

"You're all... naked," Fred stepped away from the door.

Cordelia laughed. "It's not like you haven't seen a naked woman before though, like in the girl's locker room in high school."

Fred continued blushing. "Well yeah sure, but you're my friend. It's different."

"You are so cute when you blush," Cordelia only realized what she said after she had finished saying it. "Oh, I didn't mean... I mean...," Cordelia finally gave up. "Man, today just isn't my day, is it? First I walk in on you without knocking, and now I make you think I'm coming onto you."

Fred tried to apologize. "No, it's okay. I shouldn't have left the door unlocked in the first place, and I'm being a prude, and as long as we're being honest with each other I really want to finish masturbating."

Cordelia's eyes widened. The first thing she thought to say was "You sure do love run-on sentences. Uh, sure. Of course you can. It's your room after all. It was rude of me to ask to shower here."

Fred noticed that Cordelia was about to put her clother back on and go. "No, wait! You need to get that slime off of you," Fred gazed at Cordelia's naked visage and decided it was now or never. "We could both take a shower..." she stepped over to Cordelia and grinned. "Do you want to?"

Cordelia couldn't believe it. Three days ago she hadn't even had a full conversation with Fred. She didn't answer her for a minute, then felt a growing heat between her legs. "Yes, very much so."

Fred wrapped her arms around Cordelia and kissed her on the lips. She didn't even care about the slime.


End file.
